The Kingdom by the Sea

by Robert Westall

First published 1990

Amazon

4.6(177)

During an air raid on the north-east coast of England, twelve-year-old Harry reaches the shelter but a German bomb destroys his home. Believing that his parents have been killed and unwilling to be sent to an unsympathetic relative, he disappears with a stray dog and begins travelling through a landscape of beaches, railway lines, bombed towns and military defences.

Harry’s attempt to survive without adults brings periods of freedom as well as hunger, fear and exploitation. The people he meets reveal different forms of wartime loss, while his growing bond with the dog gives him a reason to continue searching for safety. The novel treats the Blitz from a child’s perspective, focusing on homelessness, grief and the improvised communities created by civilians during war.